Phonemails in Japan
by Omnicat
Summary: Sequel to 'Note Passing at St Gabriel's', set during episode nine. Now that Heero has changed schools, he and Relena switch from paper to phonemail to exchange messages. Poor, under–appreciated vocal chords...


**Title:** Phonemails in Japan

**Author:** Omnicat v''v

**Rating:** K+ / PG

**Genre:** General, with bits of Humor and a few slices of Angst

**Spoilers & Desirable Foreknowledge:** Up until episode ten, "Heero, Distracted by Defeat".

**Warnings:** None.

**Pairings:** None.

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. No franchise or money for me, no lawsuit from you.

**Summary:** Sequel to "Note Passing at St Gabriel's", set during episode nine. Now that Heero has changed schools, he and Relena switch from paper to phonemail to exchange messages. Poor, under–appreciated vocal chords...

**Author's Note:** Lo and behold! A sequel?! It really happened?! This is for everyone who kept planting the idea of a sequel to "Note Passing at St Gabriel's" ( www .fanfiction. net/s/4513117/ ) in my head! Enough with the exclamation marks already! Ahem. Okay, same old story: regularly formatted text is what happens in real life, plain font is Heero's messages, italicized font Relena's, every white line between messages denotes a new message. 'Phonemail' is the AC equivalent of text messaging: when _Gundam Wing_ came out, cell phones hardly existed yet, so they were never featured in the series. So I took artistic license to make up my own version. Story is set between episode nine ("Portrait of a Ruined Country") and the scene in episode ten ("Heero, Distracted by Defeat") in which Relena arrives at the school Duo and Heero had been staying at, only to find them gone. Enjoy!

**II-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-I-oOo-I-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-II**

**Phone Mails in Japan**

Visits from Duo were never a good sign, in Heero's opinion.

"Hey Heero, you've got a phonemail message from your girlfriend."

This instance confirmed it.

The other gundam pilot (Heero's professional pride bristled) leaned against the doorpost to Heero's room, waving around a portable phone and wearing a grin that spelled even more trouble. When Heero turned in his chair, the phone came flying at him, giving him no choice but to catch it.

"What the heck's this supposed to mean?" He turned it around in his hands. It was a modern, but cheap model. A disposable.

"That Relena chick gave it to me after school today. Said it was a gift and that we should keep it. I don't know what the Hell's going on between you two, but I've gotta hand it to her, she sure is persistent." Duo put his hands in his sides and leaned forward. "What I saw in the marina - was that a lover's spat or something?"

"Relena is not my girlfriend." Heero snapped.

Duo's eyebrows went up, and as he straightened he gave off the same vibe Relena had when he'd told her a thousand times over that he would kill her, in person as well as through illicitly exchanged notes. It gave Heero the feeling that Duo had just decided not to believe a word he said.

"She agrees!" Heero added more heatedly.

Duo chuckled and turned on his heel, his hands disappearing into his pockets. "Whatever you say, buddy."

Heero snorted, too annoyed and disgusted to be bothered with trying to change Duo's mind. A girlfriend? Him? The idea was preposterous. He didn't know what possessed Relena to try to even be nice to him, but her crazy belief that he was worth treating as well as any other human being, despite everything he'd done, sure wasn't caused by anything _he_ had _done_.

Either way, he was obviously slacking off on the job, he thought as he worked out the phone's controls. He should be able to scare any and all civilians out of wanting to get involved with him, no matter how blindly _nice_ they were.

Maybe wiping away her tears had been a bad idea after all. Well, that was the last time he would care about what other people thought of him...

_Dear Heero and Duo. I hope this message  
reaches you in good health. You must be  
wondering why I came after you. It's simple:  
to join your cause. It would be rather awkward to  
discuss this in public, hence the cell phone. It's  
brand new, I'm the only one who knows the  
number, and I'm pretty sure nobody has seen me  
buy it, so it should be reasonably safe to use. If  
there is anything I can do, please don't hesitate  
to call me or send me a message. My parents have  
an extended system of social contacts in the  
upper class of Earth society, colonial politicians,  
as well as the military forces of both Earth and  
the colonies. Then there are my own classmates  
at St Gabriel: many of them are the children of  
rich and powerful public figures. As long as it  
poses no risks to innocent bystanders, I  
could use these contacts to obtain useful  
information for you. And on top of that there's the  
fact that I'm filthy rich and my name gets me  
easy access to a lot of people and places. :) These  
assets are all at your disposal, granted that you  
keep me informed about what you're doing to take  
down OZ (no details, don't worry, I won't ask for  
things that would make it too dangerous for you  
to have me involved). If there is anything else I  
can provide or assist you with, all you'd have to do  
is ask. I want to make my own contribution in stopping  
the people who killed my father, and assisting you  
gundam pilots is the only way I know how. Approaching  
my father's allies openly would mean walking right into  
OZ's arms, and you two are the only other people I  
know who could oppose OZ. So even though I am  
inexperienced, please accept this offer.  
Sincerely, Relena Darlian  
PS: Though I say I will do anything in my power  
to help you guys out, I __**will**__ impose logical restrictions.  
No funny stuff. I don't really think you two would  
try to get me to do something indecent, but my  
experience with teenage boys says they can't keep  
their minds out of the gutter no matter what positions  
they're in. No offence._

Heero glared at the doorway Duo had disappeared through, stood up, and slammed it closed. That bastard. Acting like Relena's message was meant for him personally, getting him all worked up with that 'girlfriend' stuff, while the phonemail was practically a business proposal.

He typed out a curt response, aggravation seething under his skin.

Why are you following me?

The answer came quickly enough to suggest that Relena had been waiting for his message.

_I told you (at great length, too): I'm on your side now.  
And to be on your side, it would come in handy to  
stay __**by**__ your side, don't you think? ;) Will you accept my  
aid?_

I never asked for anyone to be 'on my side'.

_You wouldn't. That's why I offered. :P_

I could get a restraining order against you, you know.

_Or you could just come round to my hotel and kill me. _

_The silent treatment, huh? May I remind you that __**you**__  
were the one who brought it up first, and then used it  
like other people use the word 'hello'? I'm almost  
disappointed that you'd come back on your word so  
easily. Am I somehow no longer a threat now that I  
know exactly what you're up to, as opposed to when  
I didn't even know half of it?_

You're not complaining, are you?

_Touché. :) But I told you as much of the truth about my  
motivations as I felt safe giving. I'm allowed to ask  
the same thing in return, aren't I?_

You're never going to let me live this down, are you?

_Why didn't you kill me? You said you would, and you  
were so insistent that you meant it. Did something  
change, or were you bluffing all along?_

Now you're just gloating.

_Actually, that was a perfectly serious question. But the  
way you're avoiding the question does make it rather  
tempting... ;)_

Speaking of avoiding questions, you didn't answer  
mine. Does this mean I was right about you as well?

_I'm sorry, but you'll have to refresh my memory.  
Right about what? You told me I was a lot of things  
throughout our 'conversation'._

It took a while for Heero to compose his reply, because he wasn't sure anymore of the things he had been so firmly convinced of back then - or had tried to convince himself of, at least. It was hard to tell the difference, in retrospect. The problem was that _Relena_ had been proven right about _him_, against everything he had expected at the time. What was to say he hadn't been off about her as much as he had been about himself?

Let me rephrase: why are you on my side?

_Because you're a good person fighting for a good  
cause. I was unsure of you before I met Doctor J,  
but now I know what I have to do, and I won't let  
our past misunderstandings keep me from doing  
that._

Wait a minute... What did he tell you, exactly?

_That it's your mission to take down OZ. And that  
you're actually a really nice guy when you're not  
trying to scare people away. :)_

And you **believed** him?! You just took **Doctor J's**  
word on it? The guy with the **mechanical** eyes and  
the **leg racks** and the **metal claw for a hand?!** I've  
worked and lived with him for years and he still freaks  
me out!

_He also told me to stay away from you if I valued  
my life, and made sure my father's body was returned  
to us. So yes, I trust him. Besides, it only confirmed what  
I already suspected._

Okay, this is where you keep losing me every time. I  
threatened to **kill** you, Relena. I would have shot you.  
I would have dropped a mobile suit on you. I have  
done nothing, NOTHING, to make you see me as a  
decent human being. Why do you keep insisting that I  
am?

_To be honest with you, at first it was nothing more than  
the benefit of the doubt, coupled with the hope that I  
would be able to get answers by being nice to you. It  
wasn't until the marina that I finally saw what was  
behind your act of the dangerous mystery man. (Not  
that you were ever very good at the part, in retrospect.  
I would have laughed in your face if it hadn't been for  
that incident with the ambulance. No offence, but you  
might want to touch up on you infiltration skills.)_

But the marina is where I tried to kill you! (I am going to  
ignore you ever wrote that part in brackets.)

_(Then I'll just have to forego the brackets this time. :P )  
Hate to break it to you, Heero, but that's where you let  
your guard down and your death threats lost all their  
credibility. It was plain as day that you were either, A)  
a sociopath collector of large explosive devices, about  
to burst into tears because the torpedoes you were  
preparing to launch were collectors items and the world  
of large explosive device collectors would never be the  
same again when they were destroyed... or B) a human being  
just like me, forced to resort to inhuman measures in order  
to bring down OZ, which has proven itself to be capable  
of committing atrocities with none of the remorse you  
yourself feel.  
Give or take some artistic license. If I'm wrong, just say  
so now. But please don't lie to me. And don't lie to yourself._

Heero was unable to reply for the rest of the day: he was too busy muttering to himself, alternately trying to convince himself yes, Relena was right, he was a human being with feelings and emotions, he had every right and at least _some_ of the reasons to get a little worked up about his job every now and then - and no!, he was big, bad and professional, he hadn't trained so ridiculously hard and spent so much time trying to chase Relena away to do something stupid like develop a guilt complex and start relying on random passers by! Grumble grumble, dissing his infiltration skills, grumble grumble. The chemistry teacher almost gave him a detention because he thought the faces Heero was making were directed at him.

Eventually, in the middle of the night, he sent a message born from pure sleep deprivation.

I'm not worth it, Relena. Go back home to the people  
who've earned this kind of devotion and forget about me.

When he read Relena's reply early the next morning, he was tired and miserable and torn between wanting to walk up to her and shake her until she stopped being so infuriatingly, despairingly stubborn, and wanting to slit the mental throat producing the protests his brain kept clogging his ears with with a rusty butter knife.

__

No. My family and friends will miss me, but they don't  
**need** me. I can't make myself **useful** if I stay at home.  
My father was already killed; how much more must be  
lost while I do nothing, enjoying their company without  
being able to do anything to protect them? I want to  
help you, your cause. I want to see OZ go down as  
much as you do. I want to be able to **do** something  
about all the things that are wrong in the world.

You can't always get what you want, princess.

_Is that what you think this is about for me? Getting  
my way? An eccentric whim from a spoiled little girl  
who doesn't know what it's like to be opposed? Fine, go  
ahead. I won't deny that I __**am**__ spoiled and __**have**__ always  
gotten what I wanted. I'm not ashamed of it. Because  
you know what? I wish __**everyone**__ was as fortunate and  
privileged as I am. I wish we lived in a world in which  
nobody had to suffer and fight and be depraved of the  
things they need and the people they love. And I wish  
more people like me, who have fortune to spare, and  
people like you, who have the power to change things,  
would stop hoarding what they have for fear of losing it,  
and start using it to help others gain the same  
happiness. What do you expect me to do, Heero? Cry and  
slink back to my sheltered little 'perfect world' with my  
tail between my legs and pretend nothing is wrong and  
nothing ever happened? I can't do that. I __**refuse**__ to do  
that. I can't __just let OZ get away with what they did to my _  
___father._ _If you won't let me help you, I'll find some other  
way. I'd prefer to work alongside you, but if you really  
want to get me out of your hair, all I ask is for a way to  
get in touch with Doctor J again. Maybe I've been barking  
up the wrong tree this whole time, maybe I should just go  
straight to the source._

No. He'd do to you what he did to me. That's something  
**I** refuse to let happen. Go home, Relena. Take what you  
have left away from the line of fire and keep your head  
down until the coast has been cleared. Leave OZ to me.

After sending that message, Heero destroyed the phone and left for Siberia. He and Relena did not meet or speak again for some time, but not for lack of trying on Relena's part. She visited the school Heero and Duo had been staying at, where she found what she had already expected.

_Off to fight again, Heero? Well I'm headed for my own battleground,_ she decided. Even if he and Duo had no use for the things she had to offer, it didn't mean she couldn't put them to use herself. She would find a way to play her part, whether there were gundam pilots for her to look to for strength and directions or not.

Then she smiled crookedly. _And I'll save all these messages we've sent, so that once I've done my share in the fighting - and preferably been victorious, for added effect -, I can gloat and say 'I told you so!'._

**II-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-I-oOo-I-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-II**

**PSAN:** Not as fun-filled as "Note Passing", sorry. I blame the fact that Heero is fresh out of the New Edwards disaster around this time, and that they wouldn't even have been able to have this conversation if Relena's father hadn't died. J's revelations were the side-effects of a heavy loss, and... OKAY, THAT'S IT, THERE _WILL_ BE A NEXT INSTALLMENT, AND IT WILL BE MORE HUMOROUS IF IT KILLS ME.


End file.
